Electrical interference, alternator whine on stereo...

["Rod Birch" <HOTROD930@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Nathan wrote:
Does anyone know how to stop the whining through an upgraded car stereo.
I have two Punch Amps and Infinty Kappa speakers all round.  I have recently
recabled the whole car.  4G to battery, 8G from distribution box to the
amps, 8G earth to chassis and OFC speaker cable.  All cables are seperated
and I have even earthed the RCA's on the head unit and the car chassis.
When you accelerate in 1st, 2nd and 3rd it sounds as though the car is an
aircraft taking off...I have heard that I might need capicitors on the
alternator.  Is this true and if so is it an easy job ?

****I've never heard of adding capacitors to an alternator.  You can try a
couple of things:  turn down the gain/input sensitivity adjustments on your
amplifiers.  If they're cranked all the way, you need to turn them down to
midway or so.  There are ways to "match" the level of the output from the
head unit, but they're more involved.  Some people think the gains are like
volume or fader controls, they're not.

One thing that I routinely do in stereo installations is run the ground for
the head unit back to the same ground location for the amplifiers.  If
you've got a "noisy ground", meaning a return path for some accessories
through the chassis back to the battery, then try a different ground, say,
on the other side of the car.  If you're running some fancy double or triple
shielded RCA cables, that can also cause problems.  Use basic, skinny, gold
plated RCA cables for less noise.  You can use twisted pair type RCA cables
made by most manufacturers now, and they should result in even less noise.

Feel free to email me directly, I hope this helps!

- -Rod Birch
1986 325, 600 watts and no alternator whine